The Only True Love
by Kera Shade
Summary: When a wealthy producer intervenes in the life of Rouge the Bat, she finds herself torn between the two loves that she holds dear... KnuxRouge. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

A/N: This is the second fanfic I've started! While I do intend to return to my original WoW fanfic, I have lately been thinking about creating a story based on my love of all things Sonic (particularly KnuxRouge -grins-). I really love the storyline I have created and feel that this story has enormous potential, so keep checking back.

Disclaimer: All Sonic-related characters, places, and plot elements are property of SEGA. All coincidences (whether it be name, appearance, etc.) regarding characters not created by SEGA are purely coincidental.

**Chapter 1-Prologue**

Knuckles gazed up at the stars and let the soft, brisk night air wash over him. The stone surface of the altar had become cool to the touch, and this sensation easily seeped through the echidna's thin, vibrant fur and chilled his bare back. However, he was quite used to this by now, and, lost in his thoughts, the very concept of being uncomfortable meant nothing to him. For one who had spent the majority of his life on an isolated island guarding the Master Emerald, one night's discomforts meant nothing. As far as Knuckles was concerned, his _life's_ discomforts meant nothing. What mattered was that he remained loyal to his duty - to protect the Master Emerald at all costs.

He turned his head to the side, gazing up at the large green gem that constantly emanated a warm, soothing green glow. This jewel had witnessed a variety of adventures and misadventures, yet it had still returned to Angel Island, safe under the never-ending watch of Knuckles. As guardian of the gem with the ability to control the powers of the Chaos Emeralds, the red-furred, stubborn echidna knew that the protection of such was to be his highest priority until his final breath.

Knuckles let his eyes drift to the endless expanse above him once more, and he folded his arms across his chest. In the star map above him, he traced the innumerable lights with his weary eyes. Lately, he could not sleep, nor could he allow his mind to wander beyond the well-defined borders of his own duty. The reason for these aberrations from his normal way of living was not that he was physically ill, nor that he felt like doing so would put the Master Emerald at risk of theft. Simply put, he was afraid of his own thoughts. If he allowed the cogs of his mind to turn, he found that there was a concealed element of his priority list that he could not allow himself to think about. The more he thought of this accursed part of his life, the more he feared that he might somehow lose sight of his most important purpose, to guard the Master Emerald, and chaos would consume the world because of his foolishness.

Raising an arm to his forehead, Knuckles groaned and closed his eyes as he tried to suppress the mounting headache that now plagued him due to his lack of sleep. His brain had become weary, and blurred images of his fragmented thoughts danced about in front of him. The breeze gently caressed his face, carrying with it the calming scent of the ocean that tumbled onto the shore, far beneath the island. The warm glow of the Master Emerald partially visible through his closed eyelids, Knuckles found himself entirely at peace with the surrounding world. Slowly, silently, darkness filled his mind and he succumbed to sleep.


	2. Suffering and Solace

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Wow, four for my tiny prologue/intro...:D

Here's chapter two...I hope you all like it. If it seems a bit dry right now, I can assure you that the pace will pick up from here on out. And...(-Puts down a giant sign-) Thus begin the long chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own any SEGA characters, places, plot elements, etc. All similarities regarding _other_ characters are purely coincidental.

**Chapter 2 - Suffering and Solace**

_There are four...five cameras._

The stealthy white bat slipped behind a column as the camera a few feet in front of her turned slowly in her direction. Her lively teal eyes surveyed the circular room and met the object of her desires once more. Her skin-tight black garb catered perfectly to every contour of her body as she dashed behind another column with flawless dexterity. Once more she turned her attention to the center of the room, where a crimson gem glittered exquisitely behind its simple glass case. Making certain that her dark disguise was secured over her white fur, the bat took a deep breath and pondered over her plan of action once more in her mind.

After a few moments of silence, she heard a muffled explosion in the distance. The security cameras around the perimeter of the jewel crackled softly and ceased moving. Taking this window of opportunity, the bat ran from her hiding spot and gave the glass case a swift kick, shattering it into countless glimmering shards. Paying no head to the sharp fragments which were scattered about her like drops of dew on morning grass, she took a step forward, her eyes enthralled by the gem. Slowly, she extended her hand, trembling slightly, and touched her fingertips to the magnificent stone. She gingerly wrapped her fingers around it, lifting it from its pedestal, and drank the beauty in with her exhilarated eyes. This euphoric moment, however, was short-lived.

As quickly as the bat had assumed the gem to be hers, a hand swooped down upon it and pulled it out of her grasp. She jumped backwards, fear and confusion conspicuous in her eyes, and regarded the creature who had just had the nerve to rob her of what she had rightfully stolen on her own. Moonlight poured down through the solitary window set into the ceiling, and she could clearly make out the shape of a red, flustered echidna holding the gem tightly in his hand. Her heart throbbed, and it felt as though an iron weight had just burdened her stomach. The bat backed up another step and bit her lip. This act of thievery had already become much more complicated than she would have hoped, and with this new arrival, she found herself perplexed over what was truly the correct thing to do. She had come here for the gem that he now held in his hand, but...

"So what will it be?" the echidna asked abruptly, eyeing her with frustration. "Surely you have seen what this Chaos Emerald is capable of by _now_. Are you really so obsessed with gems and riches that you would endanger the world?"

The bat winced and gazed into his eyes. His brow was furrowed in fierce devotion, and his violet irises were full of passion and loyalty to his own objectives. She closed her eyes and smiled, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"My, my...so quick to jump to conclusions, aren't we?"

The echidna's face began to turn as scarlet as his fur as he tried to formulate a comeback. After an intense period of silence, he snapped, "Don't try to deny it! We _both_ know that your only priority is to acquire as many riches as you can get your filthy hands on!"

The bat glanced up at him again with an agitated scowl apparent at the corners of her mouth. She took a step forward, and the echidna took a step backward in subconscious response. The moonlight rained upon her, and she moved her eyes from the echidna to the gem and back to the echidna. The gem was, beyond the shadow of a doubt, a lovely specimen to behold as it sparkled in the soft moonlight, its red coloring rivaling that of the echidna's fur. She smiled and met his eyes with hers. He maintained his tough expression, but it was blatant that he was feeling rather awkward.

"I'll tell you what. You can keep that gem, but you should at least _try_ to look beyond the stereotypes that you have created for people," the bat murmured with a slight grin. "Are you honestly naïve enough to believe that someone such as...say...Doctor Eggman...would not know that a Chaos Emerald was being held by the military? Would it be better if Eggman had managed to get his grubby little hands on that Emerald?"

The echidna stared at her in astonishment. He grasped the Chaos Emerald even tighter and took a step towards her, watching her as if expecting her to reach out and grasp the Emerald at any moment. He paused for a while, his mind completely barren of a cohesive response.

"Why...?" he whispered to her, almost seeming as if her unexpected generosity had saddened him. "What are you trying to prove by not causing a fuss?"

The corners of the bat's lips formed a smirk, and she turned away from him. Laughing to herself, she began to walk away, her footsteps resounding about the stone chamber. The echidna followed her movements for a moment as if he were fascinated, but he regained his composure and began to chase after her.

"Hey!" he called out, speeding up as she left the room and turned right in the hallway. "Bat girl, slow down!"

The bat turned left into another corridor, and the echidna growled in frustration. His dreadlocks flailed out viciously behind him as he sped up, nearly losing his balance as he rounded the corner behind her. She peeked over her shoulder at him and accelerated, further augmenting the echidna's vexation. At his wits end, he finally stopped running and watched as she lessened her pace ever so slightly.

In a last attempt that he presumed would be futile, he shouted, _"Rouge!"_ at the top of his lungs, reddening by the moment with aggravation and embarrassment. Much to his surprise, she quickly pivoted and took a few steps back in his direction, ultimately stopping a few meters in front of him. He gulped and prepared to ask her once again, but she held up her right index finger to silence him.

"You really are an idiot if you haven't figured out that much yet," she giggled, turning as if to continue running. "But...if you really must know..."

She moved her lips as if to say something, but no sound escaped her mouth. Holding her hands up to her mouth in shock, she tried to say something, _anything..._but it was as if she were being suffocated by the oppressive silence. The echidna continued to stare at her, waiting for the response that he expected to come, but he did not take any notice of the fact that she appeared to be struggling. Tears began to flow from her eyes and she fell to her knees, unable to sob or scream for help. Meanwhile, he stood there, only a short distance away, yet he did not so much as reach out his hand to aid her. Inside of her chest, her heart had become lead, and she could not bear to suffer like this any longer. Closing her eyes, she allowed her body to slowly fall to the ground. These few instants seemed like an eternity, during which she relived every ounce of pain that she had ever known. These memories, like small, relentless needles, pierced her body and ripped her entire being apart to the point where everything she had ever known to be good had been brutally destroyed, leaving no traces of joyful moments or thoughts. As she was about to hit the ground, there came an ephemeral sensation of having landed in someone's arms, but that sensation, too, had been torn apart by her own misery.

* * *

Rouge felt her body shudder as she "hit" the bed, ending the latest in a series of dreams that, for her, had been very frightening and depressing. She stared at the ceiling of her dark apartment room for a while, her hands folded on top of the blanket. In actuality, the dreams were a topic that she tried not to think about if she could at all help it. Every time, she would only wake up to find herself more depressed and anxious. Her concerns had recently even become apparent in her daily life, as her everyday actions were now sluggish and done in a perfunctory manner, and she seemed to shift sporadically from being distracted to being downright melancholy. 

Swinging her legs around to her left side, she sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes. In the vanity mirror across from her, she could clearly see her white fur, disheveled from tossing and turning, and her teal eyes, slightly glassy from sleep deprivation. She let out a deep sigh, bringing her knees up to her chest and embracing them as she gazed at her own pitiful reflection. Pushing the bed away behind her, Rouge stood up, stretching her back and blinking as she felt a slight jab of pain sear in her lower back and up through her wings. The door to the apartment's small balcony had been left open, and a gentle breeze was blowing into the bedroom. With great caution, the bat made her way outside and leaned her arms against the cool metal railing, looking down into the busy streets below.

From her position on the ninth floor, it was extremely difficult to make out any particular details of the nighttime scene. However, being at such a high vantage point gave her an excellent view of Central City, constantly alive with brilliant neon lights which set the night sky ablaze. In the distance, she could hear the wailing of a police siren and the honking of car horns at a busy intersection. She gazed up at the sky, and a small smile formed at the corners of her mouth. Even through the light-polluted atmosphere, she still had a clear view of the stars, shimmering like diamonds in dark satin. The full moon shone down upon her, bathing her in pale moonlight as she remained at peace, albeit only temporary. However, soon her bliss was replaced by anxiety as she recalled the nightmare she had just awoken from.

_They all feature Knuckles..._ she thought, shifting her weight to her right foot, as she reflected back on the dreams she had been having, _but why am I troubled by this?_

Rouge began to make her way back into the room, still deep in complex thought. From the closet on the opposite side of her bedroom, she pulled out a long, custom-designed black coat, which she pulled around her body, carefully maneuvering her wings out to avoid causing herself pain. Finding a pair of boots in the closet that were to her liking, she pulled them on in a hurry and slipped out of the room. She quietly snuck out of the apartment, locking the door behind her, and crept down the stairs. The evening breeze playfully disturbed her fur, and under the cloudless sky, everything surrounding her seemed to have a certain degree of tranquility, despite the fact that she lived in a very thriving city.

She instinctively began to pace as her thoughts rambled on, one trouble after another. Completely at the mercy of where her feet wished to go, she continued to walk, her mind lost in the realm of dreams. The more she thought of the ridiculous nature of the dreams she had experienced, the more she was aware of how unrealistic such scenarios were. Each passing dream, however, made her even more concerned. The exact reason for this eluded her, but it was destroying her life.

_If we had both been there in that situation,_ she reflected, _he wouldn't have reacted so calmly when I let him have the Chaos Emerald without a fight. He certainly wouldn't have _pursued _me in order to find out why I had not tried to claim the Emerald for myself. And..._

Rouge had managed to find her way to a nearby residential area which she had never seen before. Ivy was climbing up the brick walls which formed boundaries between the wealthy estates on both sides of her and the cement pathway that ran through them. The individual mansions were truly wonders to behold, with towers, large balconies, and detailed stained glass windows basking in the glow of the moonlight. In truth, Rouge found herself a bit envious of such luxury, as her infatuation with beautiful treasures of immeasurable value had never borne any such fruit, and for the most part, she found herself as having fallen quite short of almost every goal she had ever set for herself. Her determination and love of riches, however, prevented her failures from impeding her true desires.

_The one memory that I can't forget...is when he saved me. He wouldn't have let me die, if there was any truth at all behind that dream._

The troubled bat knew in her heart that the aspect of the dreams which had brought her the most grief was the recurrent theme that she would find herself dying in front of Knuckles, who did nothing to help as he simply watched her suffer. In her most recent dreams, these moments would occur following a point in time where Rouge would try to _somehow_ alert the clueless echidna to her feelings for him. This, by itself, was an unrealistic scenario. She enjoyed toying with someone like him, and did not see herself as the type of person who would admit her feelings in such a straightforward fashion. Also, despite distinguishing himself as a loner, Rouge knew that he was in fact loyal and even compassionate. It had been those concealed traits that had led him to save her life during her mission to provide information on the "Ultimate Life Form" for the government.

During her mission to research "Project Shadow," Rouge and Knuckles had spent a great deal of time gathering pieces of the Master Emerald. The Emerald had been shattered when Knuckles tried to reclaim it from Eggman (who, ironically, had been trying to steal it during a dispute between Rouge and Knuckles over its proper ownership). They had encountered each other once again at the Space Colony ARK, where they both fought fiercely over its rightful possession. In one heart-stopping moment during that battle, Rouge had lost her footing and plummeted towards the lava, her life flashing before her eyes as she extended her hand upward, hoping for a miracle. At that moment, a warm hand wrapped around hers, and she gazed above her to find that the echidna had saved her life.

Rouge smiled as thoughts of that instant rushed through her mind. As she recalled his reaction, she giggled and closed her eyes.

_He claimed that he did it all for that Emerald of his...However..._

She clenched her hand gently, vividly remembering the blissful feeling of his hand holding hers, unwilling to release it until he was certain that she was unharmed.

"_I'm sorry...if I hurt you,"_ the bat thought to herself, a summery warmth filling her chest. _That's what he told me after our fight._

Rouge repeated that line over and over in her mind as her feet moved involuntarily, driving her past larger, wealthier estates. In the midst of the dreams that plagued her, thoughts such as these put her at solace, however temporary it might be. Rouge's feet began to move faster, and she soon found herself dashing underneath the glittering sky, her long coat flowing gracefully behind her. The cool air felt revitalizing as it pushed back against her face, and her pace quickened as she passed through a segment of pathway completely enveloped by the dark boughs of well-maintained trees. As a treasure hunting bat with a lust for beautiful gems, such dark, mystical scenes earned much fascination and appreciation within her heart.

_But...we haven't talked for such a long time now..._

Rouge's stomach churned, and she gradually came to a stop in front of a large double gate. Still concerned with the echidna, her eyes half-heartedly rose to survey the grand mansion that stood before her. The building itself was a magnificent structure, crafted of flawless white marble and adorned with countless crystal sculptures of seraphim and graceful birds. Intricate designs of snakes and archaic language were carved into the eight marble columns supporting the front of the four-story mansion. In the courtyard behind the gate, water was flowing from the mouths of four stone sirens in a large, elegant fountain. Above the mansion's main doors, a stained glass window depicting an angel with a broadsword was clearly visible.

The bat ran her hand slowly down the front of the gate and sighed deeply. She stared in silence at the angel holding the sword as if hoping it could liberate her from her troubles. She meditated in silence for a minute, gathering her bearings and preparing for the journey back to her apartment building. A powerful gust stung her cheek, and she watched as a blue poster skittered past her and into the night.

"Excuse me, Miss. May I help you with something?"

Rouge jumped upon hearing this sudden voice, and she frantically searched for the source as her heart beat rapidly with explicit fear. Behind her, a slender cat stood in a pool of ashen moonlight. His hands were lost in the pockets of his black tuxedo pants, and his olive eyes were full of happiness and ambition. Rouge could not help but notice that, from his thin glasses to his well-kempt tuxedo to his polished black shoes, he appeared to be rather well-off. He stood at about her height, perhaps a bit taller, and had gorgeous black fur that made Rouge rather self-conscious about her current disheveled appearance. He took a few steps toward her and placed his hand on her shoulder, gazing into her eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, his eyes full of concern.

Rouge scowled and pushed his hand off of her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she replied grimly. "You just startled me. I didn't expect to see anyone at night in such a quiet neighborhood."

The cat smiled kindly and moved his eyes to the side. Rouge followed his glare to find a sign that read, "SOLD!" on the locked gate of the enormous estate.

"I'm terribly sorry that I startled you," he apologized, and Rouge shifted her attention back to him. "And if you don't mind me asking...You do not seem very healthy. Is something troubling you?"

Rouge grunted and folded her arms, looking away from the cat.

"That's none of your concern..."

He stared at her for a moment and nodded to confirm that he understood.

"Say...do you have any interest in fine arts, Miss?" he asked, digging in his jacket pocket to find a blue flyer.

"Not particularly," she responded, eyeing the object in his hands. "Why do you ask?"

The cat smiled and explained, "There is going to be quite an event in town tomorrow evening, and I figured that you might like to go."

He handed her the flyer, and she scanned it quickly as the cat continued to speak.

"It's bound to be spectacular. I figure that...after this little accidental meeting...this might serve as a decent method of consolation. Anyway, whether you would like to attend or not, it is up to you."

After she had finished reading the flyer, Rouge stared up at him with a slight grin.

"You certainly _do_ know how to deal with a lady, don't you?" she joked, and he chuckled softly. "Thank you for the offer, but I must be going."

"Take care!" he told her, grinning. He gave her a slight wave as she began to travel down the deserted pathway again, and she waved back to return the sentiment.

As she walked, she folded up the flyer and tucked it inside of her pocket. Her fingers brushed against something inside, and she dug deeper to find that a ticket for the following night's event had somehow mysteriously appeared. Mumbling to herself, she turned fully around, and her eyes fell upon the spot where the cat had previously been standing. Just as her faint clouds of breath were dissolving into the cool night air, the cat had vanished into the all-encompassing shadows of the night.


	3. The Guardian and the Thief

A/N: Hey all! I'm sooo sorry that it took me such a long time to update. I had a gigantic case of writer's block...From experience, I can honestly say that writer's block and perfectionism do _not_ work well together. In addition, this chapter was kind of hard for me to write because I kept picking out little elements that I did not like. This eventually resulted in **huge** changes, even to the point where I reorganized the entire thing.

Secondly, upon looking over this chapter again...It's really long. I promise I won't ever write such a long chapter again, ever! I promise! Forgive me! (-cries-)

Also, I had a hard time choosing whether to use Knuckles's or Knuckles'...Eventually I decided to go sans "s" because "Knuckles' " is so much more pleasant to look at.

Oh, and I made cookies for all my lovely reviewers! (In the shape of my favorite little echidna's head, of course!) I just wish I could...you know...actually give them to you. The computer doesn't seem to like it when I jam cookies into the CD drive...Uh, anyway! (-Sweatdrop-)

Just a thought before I start...

Recently, I realized that, as well as referring to make-up, "rouge" is the french word for "red." Now, think of the color of Knuckles's fur... Red + Red! They _are_ destined for each other! (-Threatens Shadow with a toothpick, colored cellophane still attached!-)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, etc. created by SEGA or Sonic Team. All similarities with non-SEGA characters are purely coincidental.

And without any further ado...

**Chapter 3 - The Guardian and the Thief**

Knuckles sat trembling and alone atop the shrine of the Master Emerald, where the precious stone had rested only hours earlier. Heavy drops of rain poured down from the bulging charcoal clouds above, soaking through his brilliant ruby dreadlocks and adding to his overwhelming misery. Though this discomfort normally would not have vexed him after years of isolation, every comfort that he knew had unraveled before his eyes. Doubts now plagued his mind, eating away at his conscience and causing his stomach to churn ceaselessly.

_Some guardian _I_ am..._

The echidna was leaning forward slightly with his arms folded in his lap. Drooping his head in shame, he listened to the hypnotic patting of the raindrops against the surface of the shrine and the surrounding verdure. His right hand moved over the white, crescent-shaped symbol on his chest. Clenching this hand into a fist, he closed his eyes and endured the sting of the piercing water as it pounded on his fresh wounds. A wave of pain pulsed through his left cheek, and he gently caressed it with his other hand as the sharp, salty taste of his own blood became more apparent in his mouth. He let out a stifled gasp as he applied a bit too much pressure to the tender area, setting his jaw aflame in inconceivable agony. In reflex to this nearly-intolerable pain, he gritted his teeth and snarled loudly. This, unfortunately, only augmented his suffering.

"Damn it all!" the echidna shouted, rising to his feet. The sound reverberated for a few moments only to be overcome by the faint roaring of the ocean. The pain had subsided to a bearable point, but Knuckles knew that he would have to deal with these gradually dwindling spurts of anguish for several days.

Knuckles quickly became aware that he had lost most of the feeling in his left leg, and he sat down gingerly as it began to wobble under the weight of his body. He exhaled deeply as he examined it, noting where it still ached and where it had just become entirely numb.

_This is quite a situation that I've found myself in..._

Once again, the wounded echidna raised a fist to the symbol on his chest and sighed. He had become feeble, an excuse of a being not powerful enough to be entrusted with the protection of such a mighty jewel. Now, as a result of his incompetence, the Master Emerald had been stolen right before his eyes, and he had been unable to prevent such a theft. Angel Island had fallen into the raging ocean, and the guardian now sat helpless atop its vacant shrine.

The echidna attempted to stand again, but he found that his injured leg refused to support his weight. Having managed to bring himself about halfway up before realizing this, he landed with a thud on his rear, groaning loudly as the force of the impact rippled throughout his body. As he sat detached under the torrential downpour, Knuckles allowed his eyes to wander and his thoughts to roam through the archive of his mind, searching for any clue regarding this recent turn of events. The rich forests of Angel Island were shrouded by layers of thick, pale mist; Knuckles had often dreamt of losing himself amidst the abundant foliage only to find that the Master Emerald would lead him back to its precious shrine. The forest had also been the setting of his most recent dream.

Closing his eyes, the pensive Knuckles growled softly and folded his arms across his chest. Though he had fallen asleep while defending the Master Emerald, the stubborn echidna knew that the dream he had experienced of late had not been the reason that the Emerald now glittered in the hands of a crook. He had allowed himself to become weak, and now the fruit of his carelessness stood before his eyes. As the thief fled even further from the Master Emerald's home, its guardian remained atop the shrine without any means of moving from his spot, let alone to pursue the criminal. The entire matter infuriated him, although most of his rage was due to his current feelings of incompetency and shame. His actions towards the thief were a direct response from his own emotions. While it was true that he had been in a state of dreamful slumber when the intruder first arrived, the gem had been swiped from under his nose while he was fully conscious and prepared.

His blood was boiling with dishonor and frustration, but he knew that he could do nothing until he had recovered to the point where he could present a fair fight. Massaging his aching left jaw, Knuckles opened his eyes and stared into the misty forest as countless thoughts swirled in his mind like blades of grass caught in a savage tornado. No matter how many times he tried to rationalize the event that had just unfolded, the echidna found that he was unable. Regardless, he knew that he would have to learn from his mistakes if he expected to regain possession of the Master Emerald. He could not allow his emotions to interfere with his important burden, even if it meant the abandonment of his own deepest desires.

* * *

When Knuckles had begun to nod off earlier that evening, he found himself thrust rather abruptly into a fantasy. As was habit for him, the guardian was standing in front of the Master Emerald and gazing about his moonlit island. The air was tranquil and sweet, and the thick grass was swaying gently in the soft breeze. However, Knuckles stayed vigilant as he crossed his arms and remained completely quiet.

After a few minutes, a faint rustle of leaves escaped the utter silence of the tenebrous forest. The echidna became still for an instant as he tried to identify the source of the sound. The noise itself had not been too loud, so he suspected that it may have been a nocturnal creature merely going about its business. Even so, he kept his focus in case he had been mistaken. Then, as the Master Emerald began to glow even more brilliantly, Knuckles sensed a very remote presence nearby. It was not necessarily threatening, but he was certain that this aura did not belong to anything native to the island. As the stranger drew closer to the shrine, the Emerald's guardian squinted at the forest and waited anxiously. A loud crack echoed through the treetops; the intruder had explicitly revealed his location.

Knuckles glowered and clenched his fists, his flaming violet eyes boring into the shadowy figure that now stood at the edge of the dense forest. With small, cautious steps, he made his way across the plush grass under the endless expanse of stars, running his eyes along the figure's slender curves and sides. The form shifted slightly as he came closer, and he soon became aware that it was slowly backing away from him. His body froze, his muscles tense, and he listened carefully to the sounds of snapping twigs and his own heavy breathing as he prepared to advance once more. Though he was confident in his own abilities as a proficient guardian, his heart was thumping audibly in his rib cage, racing as if the Grim Reaper's scythe was lingering only a few inches from his neck.

In the passing of an instant, the figure darted away, a black shadow lost amongst the overgrown trees and bountiful shrubs. Knuckles sprung forward and quickly entered the forest, frantically searching every rock and tree branch as his feet moved independently onward. A native bird cried out in shock as he leapt onto a flimsy tree branch from which he had a decent view, steadying himself against the sturdy boughs. For a moment, he listened for any sign of this aberrant intruder.

_Snap!_

The petrified echidna could not react so much as to turn his head before he felt the weight of another shoved into the center of his back, forcing him off the branch and face-forward into the soft soil below. The creature who had struck him landed in front of his nose with a soft _thud,_ and he heard its retreating footsteps as he gently pushed his body upwards to a standing position.

"_Bastard!"_ he exclaimed under his breath as he held his aching rib cage and winced slightly. After steadying himself, Knuckles gritted his teeth and began to move quickly in the direction that the stranger had fled. He was not very far behind now. In fact, he could hear the faint padding of feet only meters in front of him, where he knew there was a small forest clearing...

Inching forward ever so cautiously, he kneeled down to peer through the dense vegetation that separated him from this visitor. What he discovered when he peeped through, however, was a large, curious eye.

"I figured that it would take you a while to find me, but not quite this long, Echidna. You had me worried that you might have gotten lost!"

Knuckles fell backwards, landing on his bottom. His wide eyes and slightly trembling body indicated that he had been spooked by this unexpected intrusion. The creature, who had pushed aside the underbrush and stepped out in front of him, was giggling madly, clutching her sides in sheer glee. He could see her entire body now, outlined against the dark woodland. Though her identity had been blatant from the moment that she opened her mouth to mock him, being able to see her seemed to make his blood race through his veins. As ashamed as he might be that she had employed such trickery in order to jest with him, he knew that what he felt as he gazed up at her was deeper than the mask of anger and stubbornness that he donned to hide his true feelings.

"I wasn't lost!" he snarled, glaring directly into her eyes. "Perhaps if _someone_ had not tried to _kill_ me along the way, I wouldn't have taken so long to get here!"

Knuckles rubbed his side in retrospect, and the creature laughed quietly. She approached him carefully and bent down, offering her hand to the resentful crimson echidna. He watched it for a moment, considering his options, and took her hand in his. As soon as he was on his feet once more, he loosened his grip and tried to pull his hand out of her grasp, but she clutched it even tighter and nodded towards the clearing in tacit invitation. His cheeks were warm and he knew that they were reddening, so he turned his head to the side in the vain hope that she would not notice his discomfort. He did chance a quick look at her as they entered the tiny area, and her mouth was fixed in an amused grin as she eyed him playfully. This humiliated him even further, yet the very circumstances seemed to fill him with a joy that he had longed for during the months that they had been apart.

When they had come to the center, the woman released his hand and smirked delightedly at him, shifting her weight to her left foot. Her silky white fur was bathed in the warm moonlight, and her bewitching aqua irises seemed to radiate an internal light. She had folded her thin ebony wings at her back, although the edges were visible on either side of her feminine torso. Instead of the tight black jumpsuit that he normally spotted her in, however, she had simply chosen to wear a long black coat that stopped just below her knees. Despite the simplicity of her outfit, she looked truly gorgeous as the moon smiled down upon her and her unknown antics.

Knuckles had, after absorbing this marvelous sight, proceeded to turn an even more vibrant shade of scarlet. The bat chuckled softly and locked her eyes with his. For a moment, they remained silent as if figures frozen in a picture frame. Then, the bat allowed her eyes to fall and she closed them in quiet contemplation.

Becoming increasingly aware of the awkward situation that he had found himself in, Knuckles began to violently ponder, _Why am I here? What am I doing? Why the hell would she put me through all that trouble just to get me here?_

Suspecting the worst, the echidna's muscles suddenly tightened, and he shot her a menacing glare. Raising his right fist to eye level, he took a step backwards. The bat opened her eyes once again and sighed softly, folding her arms in front of her chest and slowly shaking her head.

"All right, spill it!" Knuckles yelled, and the bat tapped her foot subconsciously. "Was luring me all the way out here part of some clever ploy of yours? Tell me now!"

The bat lifted her eyes to the sky and frowned.

"Actually...I need to talk to you about something."

The echidna stomped forward and thrust his fist in front of her nose. He glanced back in the direction of the Master Emerald's shrine, dearly hoping that he had not fallen for some sort of well-planned diversion.

"If that was true, why did we have to come all the way out _here_ to talk, bat girl?" he spat, and she placed her left hand on his fist.

"If we had talked _there, _we _both_ know that you would have been too focused on that precious gem of yours to think logically about what I tell you, Knucklehead!" she retorted in a bitter tone.

Knuckles sighed deeply, lowering his fist. Although he did not entirely trust her, he knew that she had made a valid point. Averting his eyes, he merely responded, "Fine, Rouge...fine. What seems to be the problem?"

A few gentle drops of water met with Knuckles' face, and he looked up at the sky. Although it had been clear only moments before, he noticed that wispy gray clouds now enveloped the moon like a thin, silvery veil. Rouge took a step towards him, unresponsive to the diminutive crystal beads that now clung to her smooth fur. She tilted her head to the heavens for a moment and watched the clouds stir and dance around the moon.

"You really are...quite devoted, aren't you?" she remarked, smirking as the pallid moonlight filled her clever eyes. A gentle wind ruffled her fur, and she turned to face the echidna with a smug expression toying at the corners of her mouth. He shot her a puzzled glare, and she exhaled with a soft, content sigh. "Always thinking of that Emerald of yours...You don't seem to want anything else."

Rouge allowed herself a few subtle chuckles, and Knuckles growled as he tried to combat his volatile temper and give a meaningful comeback. Eventually, he managed to shout, "Don't be ignorant! I _must_ guard the Master Emerald, just as my ancestors were charged with doing!" He pondered his words for a moment, then added, "And don't assume that you know how I think!"

The bat grinned even wider and folded her arms in front of her chest, eyeing him flirtatiously.

"Oh, how _do_ you think then, Echidna?"

"That's beside the point!" he snapped, flushing an impressive shade of red. She was beating about the bush, and he could tolerate it no longer. However, as he was about to open his mouth to urge her to speak, she held her finger to her lips to silence him. The warmth gradually dissolved from his cheeks, and he watched and waited as her lips remained shut.

Enormous drops were now beginning to fall on their heads, but Rouge continued to act as if she did not mind this. They stood there in a state of absolute silence until the bat gave a small snicker that she quickly suppressed.

"All right, I'm sorry," Rouge began, smirking at the damp echidna. "I think that this news may annoy you a bit, though..."

Knuckles turned his cheek to her and grunted loudly. Rouge seemed to interpret this as his way of requesting that she continue, so she took a step towards him and placed her hands on her hips. He noticed this move out of the corner of his eye and turned back to her, gazing fiercely into her eyes.

"Well, Knuckles..." she continued with a sly grin, "remember how I told you that I had quit using my treasure hunting skills for the government?"

The echidna glared at her suspiciously, raising his left eyebrow. After Earth had been saved from the death wish of Professor Gerald Robotnik, Eggman's vengeful grandfather, Rouge had mentioned that she planned to leave her current line of work due to "too much work and too little pay." Knuckles recalled this conversation, yet he felt as if he had forgotten a vital part of what Rouge had said. For some reason that he could not begin to imagine, the context of that discussion was quite blurry and in the dark for him. In the end, Knuckles figured that he had a broad enough picture of her words to provide an honest reply. After a long hiatus, he flatly responded, "I remember."

Though the rain fell all about her and streaked down her glossy fur, Rouge appeared to be completely impervious to everything that surrounded her. No fiber of her body had lost its luster under the brutal weather. From her fur to her makeup to her snug black coat, everything was flawless. Thoughts like this congested in Knuckles' mind, and he failed to notice that his cheeks had filled with heat and that he now felt a bit lightheaded. Unfortunately, he also failed to realize that Rouge had fixed him with a rather curious stare.

"Do you want to hear what I have to say or not, Knucklehead?" Rouge asked, waving her hand before his eyes. Knuckles blinked a few times and closed his eyes, ashamed at where his thoughts had wandered.

_Well...flawless...except that attitude of hers..._ he thought, then shook his head violently. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

Rouge took note of his unintentional gesture and frowned, scratching her head.

"You don't want to know?"

Knuckles glanced at her furiously and took a step backwards.

"Of course I want to know!" the echidna practically yelled at her, and she covered her ears out of habit. She merely sighed and crossed her arms.

"All right, sheesh..."

The smirk returned to Rouge's lips as she stretched her wings and met his gaze.

"I actually did quit that job, you know. The president wasn't too happy about losing his _best_ agent...Oh well! I have better things to do with my life!"

Knuckles grinned and chuckled softly.

"It's just like you to be so self-centered..." he replied, which led Rouge to fix him with an agitated expression. "I'm surprised that they let a little thief like you go without much questioning."

"They're not all as untrusting as you, you know," Rouge giggled, then looked away. "Of course, you need to protect the Master Emerald...which leads me to my original intention in coming here."

Knuckles shot the bat a solemn glare, and she turned to face the direction of the shrine.

"If I were you, I would watch that treasure of yours closer than ever. It's more powerful than the combined might of the Chaos Emeralds, so we don't know how long it might take for someone to try to use that for their benefit...whether it be Eggman or worse." She smiled sincerely and gazed up at the moon, which was still visible through the translucent clouds. "I'm done trying to steal from you, but you should definitely watch your back."

With those words, Rouge crouched and pushed up from the ground, flapping her wings slowly as her body ascended through the dense raindrops and into the heart of the severe storm. Knuckles took a few hurried steps forward and watched as the bat's dark figure passed behind the treetops and to her unknown destination. He wanted to call out for her...to bring her back to the island...

Out of fear of the mockery that he would inevitably receive, he did not.

The echidna curled his fingers into fists and held them in front of his face as the rainwater dripped from his soaked dreadlocks. Rouge had not told him any information that he had not already thought of on his own, but to hear her mention such things provided a strange blanket of security to him as he prepared to return to the shrine and go about his duties as guardian. One idea in particular struck him as odd in light of the desirous treasure hunter's egotistic personality. She had mentioned that she no longer wished to steal from him, although the powerful Master Emerald was something that any obsessive jewel thief would lust after.

Turning to trod along the woodland paths once again, Knuckles shook his head and sighed deeply. He knew that he could not allow his mind to drift from the Master Emerald's protection. However, thoughts of the bat girl seemed to swim through his mind whenever he saw a bird sing sweetly in the trees, an odd cloud float lazily across the sky, or a leaf float delicately through the air. She was everywhere, from the tiniest pebble at the foot of the Master Emerald's shrine to the vast, sparkling ocean that lapped far beneath the island. As much as he told himself that he did not care about her well-being, the tough guardian could not quite seem to force her out of his mind. Thus, he tortured himself with lengthy days and sleepless nights in hopes that he could completely eliminate all visions and dreams of her. The protection of the Master Emerald was his destiny, and this path of thought compelled him to take such serious measures in order to cleanse his thoughts of the voluptuous bat that danced so persistently in his mind.

As Knuckles traveled, the storm became even more ferocious. His thick dreadlocks flailed behind him as he attempted to push through the onslaught of the harsh winds. Lightening flashed viciously in the sky as the thunder rumbled with such intensity that Knuckles was beginning to develop a sharp headache. The trees offered little defense against the enmity of the elements, for their branches were being cruelly blown every which way by the relentless gales. Knuckles threw his arms in front of his face as he moved forward in the inclement weather, determined to reach the Master Emerald's shrine.

_Plop!_

A particularly giant raindrop landed right between the echidna's amethyst eyes, exploding. He blinked a few times, looked all around him, and blinked a few times more to find that he was staring at a dark, overcast sky as he laid next to the glimmering Master Emerald. His heart beating rapidly, Knuckles sat up and glared into the forest. With the exception of the sudden storm, everything was just as it had been before he had chased Rouge to the clearing.

Knuckles sighed and leaned back against the Master Emerald. Despite his efforts, he had fallen asleep again. The chase, the meeting, and Rouge's words had all been a dream.

* * *

The storm only worsened as time marched steadily on. Strong gusts ravaged the island, throwing showers of leaves into the air and threatening to uproot even the sturdiest of trees. Knuckles stood before the Master Emerald, watching his surroundings closely. Such bleak, blinding weather was a perfect opportunity for a seasoned gem thief to strike. This reason was precisely why Knuckles now stood with fists at his sides, ready to deter any attackers that might seek to take advantage of this environmental anomaly.

_This is rather strange,_ the guardian thought as he raised his eyes to the darkening clouds._ When I fell asleep, the sky was perfectly clear. Man, how long did I sleep?_

Another violent squall assaulted the echidna's face, and he held his arms out in front of his face in hopes of blocking the water. Instead, both his face and arms were pelted by piercing raindrops and howling winds. Recuperating promptly, Knuckles turned to the Master Emerald and placed his right hand on it, running his palm along the side. The beautiful jewel was completely unaffected by the feral winds and raging water.

The velocity of the winds increased once more, and Knuckles squinted into the storm. His senses had been distorted by the strain that the weather demanded of his body. The only sounds that met his ears were the bellowing of thunder and the whipping sound of the leaves as they were literally torn from the forest trees. Therefore, when a mysterious form passed above his head with a low _swoosh,_ the guardian stood rigid and concentrated on his direct surroundings. However, as he began to turn back to the forest, Knuckles experienced a slight sensation of unease and quickly identified the cause. Holding his fists in front of his body in a combat position, Knuckles growled and clenched his teeth.

"I know you're out there! Show yourself!" he called out, scanning the edge of the forest with his eyes.

Without any further invitation, a figure dropped down before him, landing on the steps below with a loud _clack._ Knuckles immediately sized up this intruder, taking note of his steel-soled, heeled boots and curves and...

Knuckles shuddered as he gazed at the visitor, taking a few steps back.

The figure was, in fact, a very curvaceous bat dressed in a tight black jumpsuit, white boots, and white elbow-length gloves. Pink hearts covered the toes of her boots and her chest area, and her outfit revealed quite a bit of her smooth tan skin. Her fur was a pristine shade of white although it had been darkened by the excessive water that now clung from it.

"Rouge..." Knuckles grumbled as he fixed her with a menacing glare. His heart was throbbing loudly...Could it truly be her? She did not respond nor appear to be cognizant at all. This enraged the red echidna, and he took a step towards her as he held out a fist threateningly. "What are you planning on doing _this_ time? Stay away from the Master Emerald!"

Once again, Rouge failed to respond. Knuckles felt warmth rush to his cheeks as his temper started to rise. Apart from his occasional dreams, he had not seen the bat in months. He wanted to convince himself that this was for the best, yet the echidna felt a well-concealed twinge of happiness as he stared into her stunning crystal eyes. Thus, he became easily frustrated when the bat refused to utilize her regular selection of mockery and wit in response to his words. Knuckles practically expected her to shatter the silence at any moment with a rude, witty comment about his temper or foolishness.

Knuckles punched the air beside her head in rage and glared directly into her unblinking eyes.

"What's wrong with you?"

Without the slightest intimation of having heard his question, Rouge grabbed his arm with her left hand and lashed out at him with her right foot. Instinctively, Knuckles jumped; the kick passed just below his feet. Rouge quickly let go of his arm and ran hastily up to the Master Emerald. She ran her hands over the surface, assessing its mass and size. The guardian, still shocked from this unexpected strike, shook his head violently and charged at the bat, thrusting his fist at her head. Tilting her upper body back to dodge the punch, Rouge reacted by kicking out with her left foot. This time, Knuckles backed up and prepared to dodge a second kick, but Rouge was a step ahead of him. She quickly followed her initial strike by ducking under a counterattack from the echidna and delivering a swift diagonal kick that her opponent could not evade.

Knuckles let out a short cry of agony as he staggered backwards a few steps and gripped his left leg. Rouge's attack had landed precisely on its target. Knuckles' fist, however, had grazed her shoulder as his counterattack carried through, but the bat did not appear to be in pain from the glancing blow. Wincing as he raised his chin to watch her, Knuckles inhaled deeply and held up his tight fists as he tried to revert to his fighting stance.

"What are you trying to do, Bat girl, kill me?" he screamed, urging her to answer his questions. To his surprise, she smirked and shrugged. Knuckles stood still as she turned to the Master Emerald and stretched her wings, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Slowly, she flapped them and rose until she was hovering just above the luminous gem.

"The Master Emerald..." Rouge murmured in a voice that Knuckles could barely hear. He took a few steps forward, ignoring the spikes of pain now pulsating in his leg.

"Don't even think about it! You know how dangerous it would be if the Master Emerald fell into the wrong hands!" the echidna yelled through the howling of the fierce winds.

Rouge gently wrapped her arms around the Emerald, flapping her wings quickly as she struggled to lift it from its shrine. Knuckles growled and cussed under his breath, advancing on the bat. Surprisingly, she had managed to get a decent grip on the enormous gem. However, she was in no situation to defend herself should he choose to throw a punch at her...

Instead of merely attacking Rouge, Knuckles grabbed her leg and shouted, "Listen!" at the seemingly oblivious bat. She stared at him with a sour expression, flapping her wings at a faster pace.

"Stop it, Bat girl! You won't be able to bring that anywhere in this weather, anyway! Now put the Master Emerald _down_!" the echidna shouted, his temper mounting to an unbelievable point. Rouge, of course, absolutely refused to obey. She closed her eyes and began to flap her wings even faster, grunting softly from the additional weight of the echidna. Knuckles felt his feet begin to leave the ground and snarled vehemently at the bat. Slowly and cautiously, he reached up with his left hand and grasped Rouge's arm in a desperate attempt to loosen her grip on the Master Emerald.

"Let go of me!" she snapped as Knuckles tightened his grip. He was intent on saving his Emerald. Rouge shook her left leg, which the echidna was clinging to, but he refused to budge. Without hesitation, she pulled her right leg back and glared down at Knuckles. "I said...let go!"

The poor echidna saw it coming, but it was already too late. Rouge drove her metal-bottomed boot into Knuckles' cheek with incredible force. The resulting impact was so intense that the guardian, in a state of shock, released Rouge's leg and arm and plummeted straight into the stone surface of the shrine. Knuckles slowly sat up, holding his jaw in utter anguish. The bat girl, on the other hand, realigned her grip on the Master Emerald and flapped her wings hurriedly in order to escape. Now fully aware of Rouge's intentions, the echidna stood up and began to run in the direction that she was flying, ignoring his aggrieved leg.

"You filthy thief!" Knuckles called after her as he followed as fast as his body would permit. The Master Emerald was impeding her pace significantly. "You're insane if you believe that you can fly anywhere with my Emerald, especially in this weather!"

Knuckles gritted his teeth and the taste of blood filled his mouth, but he did not care. To say the least, he was _furious_ at what the bat girl had accomplished and at what he had failed to prevent. At that point, an idea came to his mind. If he could keep up with Rouge until they reached the edge of Angel Island, Knuckles would probably be able to glide faster than she could fly with that giant Emerald. In turn, he would be able to reclaim what was rightfully his from the thieving bat girl.

_Next time, _the enraged guardian thought as he continued to run, _I won't hold back. I'll _kill_ her if I have to...but I need to get the Master Emerald back!_

Unfortunately, as the wounded echidna pursued Rouge with all of his remaining strength, a couple horrible details were brought to his immediate attention. As he exerted himself more and more, a somber haze brewed in his mind. Knuckles shook his head vigorously as he tried to clear it, but weariness and vertigo had begun to take their toll on him. Simultaneously, the condition of Knuckles' afflicted leg was worsening. In order to withstand the pain, he found that he had to practically drag his leg along behind him as he ran, delaying his progress. If even the slightest bit of weight was placed upon the leg, Knuckles would experience what seemed like an eternity's worth of pain compressed into a ten-second outburst. As his pace stalled even more, the stubborn echidna knew that he had almost reached his limits.

The fleeing bat turned to watch Knuckles as he gradually slowed, came into contact with a protruding root, and fell flat on his face. He placed his palms on the ground and pushed his torso up for a moment, surveying the surrounding area, then shot an icy glance at Rouge. With great care, he attempted to stand up once more, but his left leg had completely failed him. The only thing that Knuckles managed to accomplish before the bat girl flew out into the receding storm was to mutter a very ambiguous phrase that not even her excellent hearing could pick up amidst the falling rain and driving winds.

"What happened to you, Rouge?" Knuckles repeated to himself as he regarded the retreating winged form. "For even _you_ to have sunk to such a low...level..."

The guardian attempted to move his leg once again, and a wave of searing pain devoured his body. Rouge had come at him with the intent to _kill _in order to obtain the Master Emerald, and Rouge _had_ morals, as obscure as they might be. No matter how gullible he had been proven to be, Knuckles downright repudiated the idea that she would have gone through the trouble and consequences of _murdering_ someone in order to acquire such a gem...

Knuckles used the meager amount of strength that remained in his muscles to turn his body around and begin the long journey back to the Master Emerald's empty shrine. Digging his fists into the damp earth as if he were climbing a horizontal wall, the deserted echidna inched his way back to the only place where, perhaps, he could find a gleam of solace in the midst of the fateful storm.

* * *

_The storm should be over soon,_ Knuckles thought as he stared distantly up at the clouds. The rain had diminished to a drizzle as he sat in meditation of the night's events. _I wonder if the bat girl managed to reach her destination with the Master Emerald...This could become difficult if she dropped it into the sea._

Knuckles leaned back against the moist stones of the shrine and closed his eyes to the dainty droplets of water. In his current condition, the only wise action he could take was to rest and wish for a speedy recovery. He needed to set foot on the bat girl's trail as soon as he was physically able. Until then, the guardian could only pray that Rouge had not done anything foolhardy with the Emerald.

Knuckles lifted the back of his right hand to his aching forehead and sighed. Shortly after he had begun to drag his wounded body back to the shrine, he had lost consciousness from the combined might of overexertion and slight blood loss. When he had awoken, he had immediately noticed that the sky seemed rather distant. His view was polluted by a myriad of light sources, radiating from distant buildings. Angel Island had fallen into the sea while its guardian was blacked out, but he knew that this would happen as a result of Rouge's scheme. The rain persisted even after such a long period of time, turning the soil to earthy mush as Knuckles continued to work his way back. Thankfully, the echidna's leg had regained some of its feeling while he was motionless. He had managed to hobble for a portion of the trip, but his limb gave out on him before he managed to reach the shrine. The last leg of the journey was by far the most arduous: In order to reach the uppermost part of the shrine, Knuckles had to pull his limp body behind him solely using his upper body strength. Although the echidna was often credited for being perhaps one of the strongest beings alive, the frequent pounding of his injured leg against the steps that were situated beneath him was nearly too much for him to bear.

Since he had returned, his only thoughts were of Rouge and the Emerald that he had not safeguarded well enough. He had noticed a vital opening when she began to fly off with the jewel, yet he had chosen to try to avoid causing dire harm to her instead of giving his all for the Master Emerald. This was inexcusable for the sole individual who was charged with the protection of such a powerful stone. Why did he hold back? How could he have let himself fall into such a serious condition in which he could barely _attempt_ to capture the thief? Such questions harassed his enfeebled brain as he felt his entire face become warm.

While one side of his mind poured out self-blame, the other pondered the actions of the gem thief. Knuckles knew that Rouge was quite aware of the Master Emerald's powers, and he doubted that she could possibly be rash enough to endanger the world for her love of gems. The thief had undoubtedly been Rouge herself, but her actions had been nothing short of malicious. Her methods had been haphazard and full of flaws, both characteristics that were lethal for a successful jewel thief such as Rouge. While a deft thief would have organized a meticulous plan to pry attention away from the object that she sought to steal, the normally-clever bat had simply run up to the Master Emerald and taken off with it. Part of the echidna had been impressed at the fact that she had managed to carry such a bulky entity, but he had long since set aside that thought.

_What if the thief actually wasn't the bat girl?_ Knuckles now thought as he rested his head back against his crossed arms. _No, that doesn't make any sense...She was definitely Rouge, all right..._

He had thought of quite a few "possible" reasons, but nothing seemed to fit with the Rouge that he had encountered recently. He considered that she may have been forced to retrieve it against her will, but he figured that she was much too self-loving to perform such an undignified task, let alone one that involved possible murder. Could she have been under the influence of some infernal contraption invented by Eggman? The only weakness in this theory seemed to be that she had not been an absolute zombie as she went about her attack. Her sense of combat strategy and her speed still existed, and a very faint trace of her personality had been present in the few responses that she had provided. He also highly doubted that the infamous genius would have chosen to use someone with as much cunning as Rouge as his vessel to carry out yet another plot for world dominion. With a target like Sonic or Tails, for instance, he could have had a very important power: the trust of the people. Rouge had little fame of the sort with which to defend herself. Besides, Eggman's approach to stealing the Master Emerald would most likely have involved fooling the gullible echidna...

Knuckles scowled at the thought, emitting a low grumble. The shameless doctor never ceased to amaze him as he devised countless blueprints for the establishment of his "Eggman Empire," all foiled by Sonic and his companions. He had tricked Knuckles on numerous occasions in order to turn him against Sonic, yet the naïve guardian never seemed to suspect that his established foe might be feeding him lies. Sonic the Hedgehog did not do anything to make matters easier for Knuckles. He frequently made quips about the echidna's incredible gullibility and his _blatant_ red coloring, which was infuriating. The fact that the Doctor had the nerve to fool Knuckles in the first place provoked his wrath, to say the least.

Opening his eyes about halfway, Knuckles gazed into the fading tempest. He knew that he could not determine what had driven Rouge to steal the Master Emerald for the time being, but he planned to find out. The next time that they chanced upon one another, he would not hold back as he had previously made the mistake of doing. He was the guardian of the Master Emerald regardless of what might befall the gem. As such, it was his duty to retrieve it and return it to Angel Island...

...It was his duty, even if he had to _kill _to fulfill it.

* * *

**A/N: Hmm...That chapter was a doozy, and it's already 3:37 AM. :(**

**Knuckles: Oh, you think it was difficult for you? I get to _sit here_ now with my jaw practically _screaming_ while you write up chapter 4!**

**Author: Shush you...I'll just take longer to update if you keep nagging me like you've been doing for the past couple days... (-Scoffs-)**

**Knuckles: Hey! Do you have _any idea at all _how much it hurts to have a steel boot driven into your jaw?**

**Author: No. :P**

**Knuckles: ...I hate you.**

**Author: But I love you! You're such a cutie, Knux! (-goes off to watch more AMV's-)**

**Knuckles: (-Turning to readers-) You! Yes, you! (-Points at Kera-) She...is insane. So, feel free to leave a review so she _might_ consider updating a bit quicker than usual...**

**Author: Good little guardian!**

**Knuckles: (-Sweatdrop-) Is she trying to torture me?**


	4. Preparations

A/N: Hey, all! I'm back with more insanity and another update! I think my writer's block is mostly gone...for now.

Before I begin, I should probably make a note about my writing style which you will see later on into this chapter. Most of the time, the plot lines in my stories are dark with very serious, involved main characters. I think it must be to keep myself sane (or maybe just so I get a few kicks and giggles while writing), but I usually also include a few characters that are meant to add a kind of lighter mood to the story (aka comedy relief). I was thinking about this recently, and I decided it might be wise to add them in in this chapter. Some of you may have guesses about who they may be...You'll just have to read and find out. ;)

Also, I'm thinking about which characters I should add to this story in addition to the ones I already have. I made a note about this at the end of the chapter that goes more into depth about it.

Another positive note - This chapter isn't going to be nearly as long as my previous one. That's good, right? It's also kind of funny, in my opinion. :)

Knuckles: _Stop talking and write the chapter already! _I'm still in pain, you moron...

Author: Shush, you...I can make that pain worse, you know.

Knuckles: (-Sweatdrop-) Carry on, carry on...

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, etc. that were created by Sonic Team and are owned by SEGA. However, my OC is mine. Come to think of it, my brains and the plot are also mine...So! Any other similarities you see are purely coincidental.

**Chapter 4 - Preparations**

Rouge rolled over on her stomach and kicked her feet playfully against the wooden backboard of her bed. The rusty box spring creaked loudly underneath her, and she held a hand to her ear in automatic response. Before her, the blue flyer that she had received the night before had been laid flat against the fuzzy white comforter.

_**ALFONSO VALENTE  
PREMIERE!**_

_Central Square, Central City  
Tomorrow Night **Only**!  
8:00 PM to Midnight  
Please arrive in Formal Attire._

_For ticket prices and sales,  
contact the Central Square Entertainment Office._

The bat's eyes skimmed over the yellow text a few times before her attention drifted to the silhouettes of strange masks and ribbons that constituted an intricate web of theatrical artwork large enough to cover the entire page.

"Alfonso Valente...sounds familiar," Rouge mumbled softly to herself, tracing one of the illustrated ribbons with her right index finger. The flyer was very vague, not even offering the slightest glimpse of what the event might encompass. Therefore, she was unable to determine what the "Alfonso Valente Premiere!" might possibly be.

Rouge sat up on the edge of her bed and stared at a small white item that was resting on her dresser. She suspected that it must have been a gift from the same cat that had given her the flyer to begin with as her pocket had been empty before she encountered him. However, it seemed odd to her that an experienced, cautious jewel thief would not have noticed such a movement. To her knowledge, the cat had simply stood before her throughout the course of the conversation. His appearance and departure, on the contrary, had been quite enigmatic.

Stretching her arms to the ceiling, Rouge let out a large yawn and blinked a few sleepy tears out of her eyes. A jolt of pain shot through her right shoulder, and she quickly put her left hand to it and gasped. Gazing into the vanity mirror across from her, the bat slowly pulled the neck of her silky black pajama top down and examined the afflicted shoulder. The wound was barely visible, but Rouge could clearly see that a small bruise had developed at the location where the epicenter of pain seemed to be.

_What in the world? _she thought, holding her shoulder tightly. _When did this happen?_

A gust blew in through the balcony door, throwing the ticket on Rouge's dresser up into the air. As the small slip began to flutter downwards, Rouge stood up and caught it in mid-descent. The other thing that perplexed her was that the ticket she had received from the cat appeared to be for a very expensive seat in this upcoming event. Though from his dress and manner he seemed to be quite wealthy and generous, she could only begin to imagine the sheer amount of money that he had spent in order to acquire such a seat. For him to hand it out to a random woman out of pure altruism was truly a remarkable deed.

Rouge picked up the azure flyer from the edge of the bed and examined it closely. She still had not decided on whether or not she would attend the event. For the cost of the ticket that she had received, however, she figured that it was probably best if she made certain that the ticket did not go to waste. If she had not been so clueless about the works of this Alfonso Valente character, she may not have been so reluctant to make her choice...

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, the pensive bat eavesdropped unintentionally on a heated spat between a married couple living in the apartment beside hers. Though the first few sentences of the argument were muffled by the wall, the voices quickly rose to a point where the bat doubted that there was anyone in the entire apartment building who could _not_ make out every single word that passed between them.

"I can't stand you!" a woman's voice yelled shrilly, causing Rouge to cover her ears and wince. This was not the first time that she had been forced to listen to a squabble of this caliber. In fact, her two neighbors argued quite frequently, and she was growing weary of it.

The husband's voice responded, "What? Ok, how is this my fault? Your mother's birthday pres– "

"You broke it! Do you have any idea how much trouble I had to go through to find that?"

"Hey, do you think I did it intentionally? If it was such a precious gift, you shouldn't have left it..."

Rouge buried her head under her pillows and desperately tried to block out the bickering. After a few minutes, the stifled voices were halted by the slamming of a door. The bat withdrew her head from under the pillows and sighed deeply, hopping out of bed. She did not know the couple very well, partially because of their recurrent problems. At times, she wondered how long their relationship would last.

Rouge smirked and stared at the blue flyer with an omniscient glare. She now recalled the various facts that she had gathered unknowingly from the media.

_Alfonso Valente, the "genius of modern romantic film"...How could I forget?_ Rouge thought as she picked up the flyer and absentmindedly examined the yellow print. _I've never actually seen anything that he has produced, though. With all the hype that he receives, this 'premiere' might be something worthwhile after all._

_

* * *

_

As Knuckles began to awaken from his slumber, the early morning sun greeted his tired eyes warmly with its piercing white rays. The exhausted echidna quickly sat up and clenched his eyes shut, holding out a large gloved hand to block out the sun. He blinked a few times and groaned quietly upon realizing that he was still in a significant bit of pain. Though his misery now was only a hint of what he had suffered through the night before, he was far from being at a state of comfort.

His jaw ached rather sporadically, but the resulting anguish when these outbursts did occur was still quite painful. He did find, however, that the simple act of touching his cheek did not send him into such a state of agony anymore. Even so, Knuckles tried to avoid applying pressure to that area out of hastily-developed habit.

With a large yawn, the crimson echidna rose to his feet and began to pace around the top of the altar. To his pleasant surprise, the injured leg had all but completely healed while he reposed. He still experienced modest spurts of pain when pressure was placed on the leg, but he doubted that this would obstruct his progress. The leg was also a bit stiff from the exertion that had been placed on it under its excruciating condition, and Knuckles attempted to remedy this immediately by stretching the limb. This action, however, resulted in only meager success.

After a few moments of contemplation, Knuckles sprinted down the steps of the shrine and came to a halt, thrusting his fists at an imaginary foe. He pivoted quickly and unleashed a powerful uppercut in the other direction, slicing through the humid air. As he lowered his arms, the guardian smiled and gazed at the shrine of the Master Emerald. He was prepared and well enough to begin his search for the bat girl and the precious gem that she had stolen.

* * *

"You're _going_ to get something nice to wear...You're going to_ wear_ it...and you're going to _LIKE _it!"

A frustrated pink hedgehog trudged down the sidewalk, dragging a puzzled blue hedgehog behind her by the wrist. A small orange fox ambled along behind the pair, drawing in the sights and sounds of this unfamiliar city and trying not to pay heed to the scene in front of him. He swished his two tails subconsciously as heads turned and countless eyes stared at the spectacle that was unfolding on the sidewalk.

"What's wrong with me coming as I am?" the cobalt hedgehog replied with an amused grin, winking at the pink hedgehog. This enraged her further, and she whipped out a wrinkled blue flyer and shoved it in the hedgehog's face, pointing at a specific line.

"We're supposed to come in _formal attire,_ Sonic!" she shouted at the top of her voice. Behind the pair, the fox sighed and shrugged. The blue hedgehog only smirked and attempted to pull his wrist away from the female.

"Well, seeing as how I never agreed to come to this to begin with, I don't see how it's really an issue. I'd rather explore this place, anyway."

With that said, Sonic drew his leg back and prepared to dash, but the pink hedgehog stopped him and turned his body to face hers. With flaming emerald eyes, she held her right hand to the side and a large red and yellow hammer materialized in her grasp. She brandished it menacingly, and the blue hedgehog gulped as he smiled at her in hope of winning some sympathy. The fox took a few steps forward and held up an admonishing hand.

"Amy, stop it!"

The fox pointed to all the people now gathered around the trio, and Amy slowly lowered her Piko Piko hammer as she giggled nervously, meeting each pair of eyes in turn. Sonic let out a relieved groan and tried to escape while Amy was distracted, but the fox stepped in front of him with a threatening scowl.

"What are you doing, Tails?" the azure hedgehog asked, scratching his head. The fox sighed and pointed at Amy.

"You told her that you would go to this."

Sonic stretched and tapped his foot as he thought for a moment. After a few seconds, he shrugged and gave the fox his trademark smile.

"I don't remember telling her anything like that," he replied sincerely. Amy heard this and turned to face the hedgehog of her admiration, her mallet held in a ready position.

"You don't remember? But you _promised_ that you would come!" she snapped, her blood boiling as venomous ideas manifested on the tip of her tongue. She pondered for a moment and grimaced, remembering that Sonic had a tendency to go back on his promises to her. "Why did you think that we came here to begin with?"

Sonic shrugged and glanced at the fox, who was currently occupied with a young girl who was trying to pull on his tails. He turned anxiously back to Amy, but she had begun to stare at the flyer in her hands with a mesmerized expression on her face.

"Alfonso Valente..." she cooed with a wide grin, embracing the flyer. "His romance movies are so wonderful and..."

Amy sighed dreamily and spun around. Sonic and Tails, however, groaned audibly at the thought. The pink hedgehog ignored this reaction and gazed lovingly at Sonic, conjuring amorous fantasies in her mind. Tails turned to Sonic and smiled nervously, trying to create at least a bit of interest in the bored hedgehog.

"It should actually be very interesting," the fox explained as his tails swayed back and forth out of habit. "It's supposedly a giant light show and stage performance, according to the research that I did last night. Valente is keeping his lips sealed about what kind of show it is, though, so there's a lot of interesting speculation about the whole thing."

Sonic turned to the fox and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just telling you, Sonic...It might not be all that bad. I'm actually kind of excited about it!" Tails concluded, turning to face Amy. She had finally escaped from her trance and was now smiling sweetly at the fox.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We need to get you two something fancy to wear!"

Amy took the troubled Sonic by the wrist again and pulled him along behind her. Tails followed cautiously, desperately hoping that the careless hedgehog would not do anything to incur Amy's wrath again. There was an expression of sheer terror on Sonic's face as he dragged his feet; he knew that he could not escape from the enthusiastic pink hedgehog at this point. His heart sunk into his stomach as Amy's jade eyes lit up at the sight of a quaint boutique only a few meters away.

"Elegance and Purity..." Amy read off of the painted purple sign that hung in front of the shop. She pressed her nose to the window and gazed at all the flowing, glittering dresses behind the glass. "Ohhh...They're so pretty! I wonder if I can afford this, though..."

Without hesitation, Amy grabbed the wrists of her two companions and stormed through the glass doors, her eyes agleam with desires (that were probably beyond her price range). Sonic and Tails shot each other worried glances as Amy immediately rushed over to a sequined red dress and pressed the fabric to her cheek. Tails began to inch inconspicuously toward the men's section of the store while Sonic just stood still for a while, amazed at how enthralled Amy had become with a mere piece of clothing.

* * *

Knuckles awoke to a booming voice over the train's loudspeaker system. He rubbed his eyes and leaned his right elbow against the window, resting his healthy cheek on his open palm. His wounds were stiff from his lack of movement, but the pain was bearable. As the haze began to fade from his mind, the piercing female voice rang out once more.

"We will be arriving at Central Train Station in six minutes. Please remain seated as the train pulls into the station. Thank you."

The echidna sighed and stared out the window at the city landscape. The train was currently passing over a bridge which overlooked a majestic blue river. The early afternoon sun shone down upon the horizon of skyscrapers and metal structures which glittered like pure diamonds in the distance. It was practically identical to what Station Square had been before the attack of Perfect Chaos. Now, of course, Station Square was in the process of being rebuilt to its former glory. It had been absolutely ravaged by the extent of the disaster, and many of its residents had fled to other cities until it was fully restored. Many still remained, however, and Knuckles had spent the bulk of his morning wandering through the streets in search of a signal from the Master Emerald. Unfortunately, he did not pick up even the slightest signal from the Emerald.

(A/N: I will explain my views on the whole post-SA Station Square situation later. Don't ask me about this...yet.)

Knuckles frowned as the crests of buildings passed before his eyes. This city would be his second stop in his journey to find the bat, and he had no idea where she could possibly be hiding. He doubted that this city would prove any more fruitful than Station Square had. If Rouge wanted to be clever and intelligent in keeping the Master Emerald out of its guardian's grasp, she probably would not decide to hide out in a grandiose city that the echidna could reach within the time span of a few hours. Central itself was only about fifty miles or so west of Station Square. In addition, a train had recently been added between the two cities in order to make transportation more convenient.

The train passed under a tunnel and Knuckles watched as dim yellow lights popped on above the heads of the passengers. When he had departed from Station Square, he had chosen to doze off in order to rest his body for the challenges that he soon would face. However, Knuckles had only succeeded in making himself even more drowsy than before. Hoping to clear this quickly, the echidna stared out the window and followed the small lights on the side of the tunnel with his violet eyes.

_Thump._

Knuckles felt his heart pound and his head lurch as he underwent a temporary sensation that was very familiar to him. His eyes darted around the train and he waited intensely as the feeling became more and more distant. He stood up, alarming the young woman who was sitting in front of him, her baby asleep in her lap.

_The Master Emerald...It's here!_

Knuckles dashed into the aisle and searched about him, looking for the nearest exit. He _needed_ to leave the train and pinpoint the source while the opportunity remained available to him. To his displeasure, the attendant who was sitting at the front of the train car had other opinions.

"Where do you think you're going?" the woman asked, folding her arms and jumping in front of the door that Knuckles was approaching. He glared up at her and held his fist up in front of him angrily.

"I need to get off here!" he responded, and the woman rolled her eyes. She carefully reached down and took the echidna's wrist as if directing a child.

"You can't get off here, Sir. Once we reach the station, you may go anywhere you please. I'm afraid that we can't let you go wandering around in the tunnel, though."

Knuckles growled and pulled his wrist away from her forcefully. She snarled at him, reaching for one of his dreadlocks. He jumped backwards, smirking at her with a smug expression. The woman stood still for a moment, her hands clenched into fists, and sighed deeply. She then shot the echidna a horribly fake smile and took a step in his direction.

"All right, Sir, that's quite enough. Please go back to your seat...The train will be arriving in about a minute."

Upon hearing this news, Knuckles sighed and turned in the opposite direction. Even if he forced his way past the attendant and dug his way out of the tunnel, it would not save him much time at this point. Sitting down, he heard a _ding, _and the loudspeaker system crackled to life.

"We are now arriving in Central Train Station. I repeat, we are now arriving in..."

The guardian yawned, watching as the train decelerated and stopped inside of an immense station. He quickly stood up and hurried off the train, the attendant sending him questioning glares as he wove his way through the gathering crowds and sprinted through the open exit. Admittedly, Knuckles was astonished at his luck in locating the Master Emerald. However, in the face of what had already occurred, he was more than willing to take any breaks that he could get.

* * *

**Sooooo...? Did you likey? It was rather easy to write, actually. I took a two-day break after Chapter 3 and this was nice and quick. :)**

**Knuckles: (-Sighs-) I'm still in pain...What an annoying writer.**

**Author: (-Cough-) Anyway! Though they may seem kind of random in this chapter, Sonic, Tails, and Amy do serve a purpose in the plot. Thus, they had to be introduced eventually...as my silly characters!**

**Knuckles: Ugh...Knowing Sonic, he'll probably try to steal the spotlight and be the hero of this whole thing.**

**Author: (-Tugs on one of his dreadlocks-) Hey, you...Just let me finish talking!**

**Knuckles: Ouch! Stop that! (-Pulls it away and examines it carefully-)**

**Author: Anyway, I was wondering if you guys want me to include any other characters in the story. My main idea is for Team Chaotix (They could be worked into the whole mystery element of the piece). Thoughts? Suggestions? I don't really want to add a lot of characters, so I'll leave it up to reader response. What I already have set in concrete is good enough for me. :)**

**Knuckles: Hm...Shadow should come in and kick sonic's _rear_ out of _MY STORY!_**

**Author: (-Sighs-) Knuckles...It's _my _story. I really do think Shadow is an awesome character, but he just wouldn't fit in with the storyline. Plus, I have plans with him for a later fic. (-Winks-)**

**Anyway...(-Glares at Knux-)**

**Knuckles: (-Gulp-) Feel free to leave a review!**


	5. Alfonso's Spectacle

A/N: Wow...Another quick update. This chapter is kind of parceled together with the last chapter, but I didn't want to make it too long. I'm trying to align my updates so that a particular chapter gets posted on my birthday (less than two weeks :D), so let me know if it seems a bit rushed. I will probably wind up going back and adding more description later if this is the case.

A few things before I begin...Skip right to the Disclaimer if you don't want to read random thoughts. ;)

One thing that I know will be the source of a lot of questions is the status of Station Square in my story, so I had might as well clear this up now. I try to stay as far away from Sonic X as possible when I write due to plot errors...and humans. I _have_ seen all three seasons (first 2 in Japanese, 3rd in French), but it was mostly for the KnuxRouge love! (Episode 52 made me happy!) I love the show overall...In fact, at some points it will probably become obvious that I've watched it. However, the humans bother me beyond belief.  
But I digress. At the end of Sonic Adventure, Station Square is in a state of ruin from Perfect Chaos. No matter how Sonic X depicts it, I'm still convinced that the city would be undergoing restoration after it was essentially leveled. It takes a long time to build things...

Central City...Fullmetal Alchemist reference or lack of creativity? - Neither. On Wikipedia (I think...), I saw a paragraph that mentioned that the location of City Escape (Sonic's first level in SA2) might be in a place called Central City, but it's not certain. I decided to use this as the city name regardless. It's very hard for me to type this and "Alfonso" in the same story without thinking of FMA, though...

Alfonso Valente...Why an Italian name? - There isn't really an answer to this...I could have just as well chosen a French or Spanish name for him, but I kind of like how the name sounds. It literally means "valorous and noble" (Alfonso) and "to live well/healthily" (Valente). It kind of fits with the character that it describes. You'll see what I mean soon enough. :)

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own this hot specimen of video game character right here. (-Tugs Knuckles over by his dreadlock-) I also don't own other SEGA characters, places, etc...I own Alfonso, though. :)

**Chapter 5 - Alfonso's Spectacle**

Amy tugged gently on the bottom of the flowing silk dress and examined herself in the mirror of the cramped, rectangular dressing room. The dress that she had finally selected was truly the most beautiful garment that she had ever laid eyes upon, and she was almost certain that her choice had been made. The lovely gown was knee-length and sleeveless, accentuating the hedgehog's slender pink arms and legs. Crafted of rich scarlet silk, the dress conformed to her figure comfortably and was adorned with small, tailored flowers of a cream coloring about the neck and bottom. Thin vines of silver thread climbed about halfway up the skirt portion of the dress, intertwining and diverging in an intricate pattern. A delicate sash of ivory-colored cord hung about her waist, embellished with minuscule beads that hung lazily and danced when she spun before the mirror.

Smiling, the pink hedgehog did one final turn and adjusted the new hair ribbon that she had selected to match her outfit. It was sewn of pearly silk that matched perfectly with the flowers on her dress and the complementary belt. Three gorgeous garnets were set into the delicate fabric, a design which was completed by overlapping vines of silver thread weaving throughout the gems. All thought of the enormous _crater_ (somehow, dent does not seem to appropriately describe) that this would place in her wallet had disappeared; she had to have the ensemble.

"Sonikku!" she shouted delightedly, opening the door to the dressing room and stepping out into the cozy atmosphere of the store. She placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the room. To her disappointment, all she saw was Tails holding a tuxedo jacket that was as large as he was up to the employee behind the counter.

"...And this is the smallest size that you _have?_" the poor fox asked, scowling. The plain brunette behind the counter raised her chin and gazed down at him through dainty spectacles before nodding grimly. Tails sighed and turned back to the men's section of the boutique, the sleeves of the jacket tumbling onto the ground as he attempted to maneuver himself while holding it.

"Tails, where's Sonic?" Amy asked, surprising the two-tailed fox.

"Sonic? Oh, he went for a run..." Tails replied, shaking his head slowly. The pink hedgehog sighed and looked at the ground for a moment, then held up her fist with a fierce growl. This alarmed the fox, and he quickly scurried to the section of the store where seemingly identical tuxedo outfits were hung in perfect order.

"SONIKKU!" Amy shouted, holding her clenched fists by her side. Her eyebrows were twitching with insanity, and Tails nervously ducked behind a long rack of beige garment bags with _"Elegance and Purity"_ printed on them in faded black ink. Amy took a few steps forward and glared out the door, waiting for a blue blur to pass before her eyes at any moment. When this wish remained unfulfilled, the infuriated hedgehog turned to the craven fox and beckoned for him to approach her. Out of sheer terror, he obeyed the command and stood about a meter away from her. "Now, Tails..."

Amy took a deep breath and the small fox cowered slightly at the tirade that he suspected was about to escape her lips. Surprisingly, she fixed him with a blank expression and did a small curtsey.

"How do I look?" she asked cheerfully. Tails was becoming quite distressed, but he gulped and tried to conjure a response in his bamboozled mind. Amy had just spontaneously switched from being furious to being her normal, effervescent self.

(A/N: The word _bamboozled_ reminds me of pandas!)

"You look...um..."

The fox was still in a state of shock. He absentmindedly perused the hedgehog's dress while the last morsels of his attention flew out the door...where a red echidna had just come into view. Tails blinked a few times, turning his body in the direction of the open entrance. Amy shifted her weight to her left leg and stared at him in a rather irritated way, preparing to criticize his behavior. However, before doing so, she followed his vacant stare to the dreadlocked figure that was now passing in front of the clothing shop.

Amy's face lit up instantly. Taking a step towards the door, she called, "Hey, Knuckles!" and skipped excitedly in his direction. Knuckles easily heard the young hedgehog's voice and he groaned loudly, turning to face the obsessive Sonic fangirl. An encounter with the vivacious pink hedgehog was _not_ what he needed at a time when he figured he might be hot on the trail of the Master Emerald's thief. Despite this, he knew that it was futile for him to attempt to flee.

"What is it?" Knuckles asked, dragging his feet into the boutique and fixing Amy with a bitter grimace. He knew what her question would probably be since she was quite aware of his duties as the Master Emerald's guardian. To his surprise, Amy grinned and did a complete turn before his eyes, concluding with a graceful curtsey.

"What do you think of my new dress?" the hedgehog asked with great anticipation evident in her voice. The crimson echidna smacked his forehead and lifted an eyebrow as he shot her an irritated glare. They stood in silence for a moment as Knuckles realized that Amy was sincere about her inquiry.

"It's quite...red," he finally replied, crossing his arms. Tails exhaled with an amused sigh as Amy merely stood before him, scratching her head with a bewildered expression plastered upon her face.

"You're quite red there yourself, buddy!" joked a snide voice from behind the echidna, and he turned to see a smug blue hedgehog with a half-eaten chili dog clutched in his right hand. Sonic downed the remaining food in one bite as he watched Knuckles' face flush to a brilliant shade of red. Behind the guardian, Amy had immediately noticed the icon of her adoration and had begun to sprint, ignoring her attire.

"SON-IK-KU, YOU-CAME!" she shouted between exhilarated hops. Sonic sighed and yawned as Knuckles approached him, holding his fists up in a menacing stance, with the pink hedgehog directly behind him.

"Stop it, guys!" Tails yelled above the chaos, running up to the trio. Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles all fixed him with identical expressions of vague interest. He had not spoken since before the ruby echidna and blue hedgehog had arrived. "Calm down...Let's figure out what's going on before you all decide to shove your feet down each others' throats!"

While all this turmoil was occurring, the brunette behind the counter glanced up apathetically, flicked her glasses, and went back to browsing a fashion catalogue.

Sonic sighed and glanced at Amy. "I think that the whole city heard you call for me. What do you need?"

The bubbly hedgehog giggled and placed her hands on her hips, ensuring that Sonic had an ideal view of her garb. She held her hand up dramatically and declared, "I wanted to show you my beautiful dress, of course! Don't you think that it's absolutely _gooooorgeous?"_

Sonic smirked and shrugged, leaning his open palm against the side of an iron garbage can.

"Well, it suits you," he replied with a wink and gave her a typical 'thumbs-up' gesture. This simple action, however, made Amy ecstatic. She gazed at her hero and sighed dreamily, clasping her hands together as her heart soared to unbelievable heights. "Are you sure you have the money to pay for it though?"

_Splat._

Amy lowered her chin with crystal tears forming in her eyes. She wasn't sure at all...

Tails faced Knuckles, who had calmed down considerably since the arrogant hedgehog had made his 'red' joke.

"Now, Knuckles...This is more of a curiosity question, but aren't you supposed to be on Angel Island guarding the–"

"It was stolen!" he snapped, his temper rising once more. "Why else do you think I'd be here?"

Tails frowned in contemplation, but Sonic grinned at this possible opportunity for adventure. His eyes became luminous viridian orbs as he began to assault the guardian with a barrage of questions.

"Really? Who stole it? How'd they get away? Why is your cheek all–"

The enraged Knuckles made a slashing gesture in the air with his right hand, signifying that it would be most appropriate for the hedgehog to kindly _shut his mouth._ He obeyed without further comment; Knuckles seemed to have a glint in his amethyst eyes that was just short of homicidal.

"Okay, first of all...the Master Emerald is _my_ business and _my_ business alone. I will retrieve it _without _your help and bring it back to Angel Island. Who...or _what_...stole it is none of your concern."

With these fierce words, the echidna turned his back to the two hedgehogs and the genius fox and began to stride away. All three pairs of eyes followed him until he turned left at the nearest corner.

"So then..."Amy began, breaking the oppressive silence that now hung like a lead blanket upon the three mobians. After a hiatus, she turned to them with determined eyes. "...You two still need clothes for tonight!"

Sonic and Tails shot each other panicked glances as the fox began to stumble over his reasoning inside of his mind.

"But...but...All of the c-clothes in there are t-too large for us!" Tails stammered, clasping his hands timidly in front of him as his tails twitched wildly.

A hint of mischief ignited in the pink hedgehog's eyes as she spotted a nearby store. With a conspicuous smirk, she replied, "I think that I have an idea..."

* * *

As the day progressed, the sun quickly sank beneath the bustling jungle of gargantuan skyscrapers and structures. Slowly but surely, pale lights began to appear in the innumerable windows, spilling out onto the sidewalks and streets. Then, as the second hand continued its endless rotation through the plane of time, the entire city was sent into a state of hushed elation as each individual awaited the birth of the night scene. Finally, as if by magic, the streets were set ablaze by brilliant neon lights and flashy displays of incredible magnitude.

From her vantage point on her ninth floor balcony, Rouge eagerly regarded the myriad of colors that now dotted the cityscape. She was already fully dressed and prepared for the night's main event, but she did not feel the need to depart from her home just yet. Her choice of dress had been a slender black garment that fit her like a glove from her bust to her knees. To enhance this simple design, she had chosen to wear a silver necklace of which the focus was a diamond set into a sleek crescent moon. Around her waist was a silver-threaded sash that she had tied off against her hip. Upon her feet, she had donned a pair of high-heeled black sandals that clacked loudly when she walked upon a solid surface.

Rouge straightened her white, elbow-length gloves and leaned her arms against the railing. She supposed that she should begin to head to the performance site if she expected to reach her glamorous seat without much of a hassle. Returning to her dark bedroom, she located the ticket and checked her appearance once more before she began to travel. Content with what she saw, the bat returned to the balcony and flapped her wings slowly, carefully rising into the air. She knew that such an ensemble was not the best choice of wear to be flying around in, so she lowered herself to the sidewalk with a smug grin and began to walk to Central Square.

_Wow,_ Rouge thought to herself, taking note of the bumper-to-bumper traffic on even the most remote roads, _people are really into this Alfonso guy...I've never seen such a mess before!_

Upon closer inspection, the former spy also observed that cars were parked haphazardly in every available spot. Citizens and visitors alike were pouring out of every imaginable vehicle like circus performers out of a clown car. The sidewalks were flooded with every shape and color perceivable as Rouge made her way through the ocean of excitement and confusion. It was truly a remarkable sight to behold, even to one who had lived in the city for as long as her memory could serve.

Using every tactic that she had learned from her urban life and her years as a treasure hunter, the skillful bat began to weave through the thick crowds as she trekked to her destination. Her greatest advantage in this situation was not her skill, her looks, or anything that she knowingly relied on. What distinguished her from the typical event-goer was that she had almost infallible insight on the layout and nature of the city.

* * *

"Um...Amy...Are you certain that this is absolutely necessary?"

Tails tugged at the collar of his tuxedo jacket, staring up at the crazed pink hedgehog. She folded her arms against her chest and scoffed at the fox and the blue hedgehog who was currently trying to keep his tiny pair of pants from falling down.

"Of course it is!" Amy replied in a daze. She performed an elegant twirl and her scarlet dress flared out in the nighttime breeze. "Besides, you two look absolutely _adorable!"_

Tails looked down at the snug tuxedo outfit and over at Sonic, who was still preoccupied with the pair of pants. He sighed and tried to take shallow breaths out of fear that the buttons would pop.

"Don't you think that they're a little small...?" he asked with a frown, readjusting the flimsy collar. Sonic lifted a finger to say something and muttered a stifled curse word when the trousers fell about his ankles. Amy, however, heard this utterance and shot him an intimidating glare.

With a final push of effort, Sonic managed to align his pantaloons in such a manner that they refused to budge. He smirked proudly and gave the pink hedgehog his classic wink. Amy smiled back, quite amused by his antics, and approached him to straighten his collar.

"You're so great, Sonikku!" she exclaimed joyfully, reaching out to perfect the figure of the handsome hedgehog that now stood before her. Sonic took this gesture as the beginning of a hug, however, and took a long step backwards. To his right was a small telephone booth, and he examined his costume in the reflection of the scratched, graffiti-covered plastic.

Tails sighed at the pair of hedgehogs and intervened, "Was it really necessary to dress us in doll clothes, though? There's a tag sticking into the middle of my back, and it's really irritating!"

"Aw, Tails..." Amy whined, turning to the two-tailed fox. "It was _so_ difficult to find anything in that toy store that would pass as decent clothing! Can you two try to bear with it, at least for the show?"

The fox's gaze dropped to the ground and he groaned loudly.

"I suppose..."

Amy had caused quite a ruckus in the second shopping area that they had visited. After a good half hour of searching, she had come across an appealing display in which about twenty stuffed bears had been dressed and arranged as if they were participants in a wedding. While immediately drawn to the exhibit because of her chimeric fantasies that she would one day stand before the altar with her azure beloved, further inspection revealed that each "male" bear was clothed in a miniature onyx tuxedo. Without hesitation, the delighted hedgehog had then proceeded to hop over the low rope fence and remove two of the lightweight nuptial garments. A female owl had advanced to stop the hedgehog from causing any further damage, but Amy had already run to the purchase counter with a deranged gleam in her eyes. Sonic and Tails had followed quickly, frightened by their colleague's intentions.

Once she arrived at the counter with the owl fast on her heels, Amy had slammed the apparel in front of the employee. At first, Amy was told that the clothing and dolls were for display only and that she would have to return the habiliments to their rightful exhibit. The pink hedgehog, however, was not pleased with this response. After a few blows from a particular yellow mallet, the two peons had felt more than obliged to exchange the raiment for a meager sum of money. Thus, the company had exited the store with their brand new wardrobe in vividly-colored shopping bags.

At the sheer memory of this disaster, Tails shuddered and averted his eyes from the unpredictable rose hedgehog. He was personally concerned that Amy might be charged with a misdemeanor or even a felony for her actions against the defenseless workers that had stood in her warpath. Though no permanent damage had been done, Amy had certainly spared no expense in "persuading" the employees to let her have her way. Such behavior from this normally merry hedgehog terrified him, and he often found himself overwhelmingly relieved at the fact that Sonic did not show many signs of having an infatuation with his stalker because of how she might react if the cobalt hedgehog happened to displease her in a relationship setting.

"All right, you two," the enthusiastic hedgehog began, finally trapping Sonic's arm and pulling him beside Tails, "that's enough of this childishness. Shall we go and find our seats?"

Tails turned to the large, boisterous crowd that had amassed before Central Square's grandiose outdoor theatre. Through the sea of eager faces and chattering mouths, he could barely see the top of the colorful stage. He considered flying over to investigate the structure by utilizing his two bushy tails, but a hand on his shoulder prevented him from making any rash decisions.

"Come on, Tails," Amy's calming voice urged gently. "I have the tickets, and we should make our entrance before the place gets entirely packed."

Beside the fox, Sonic surveyed the attire of those who had gathered to attend the show. All of the women were adorned in slender, attractive garments that shone magnificently in the pale moonlight. The men who had decided to appear were garbed in very formal tuxedos. In light of this attire, the wear that Sonic and Tails had squeezed into appeared very false and inexpensive. However, as these outfits had been mere dolls' clothes to begin with, this fact was not very surprising.

The blue hedgehog shrugged off the thought and took a couple steps toward Amy, eyeing the surrounding scene with partial interest. He felt her hand intertwine with his as the trio approached the ever-growing crowd, but he was too absorbed in this unexplored area of the city to pay any heed to what his obsessive pink fangirl might be doing.

Before the group had traveled ten steps, the blue hedgehog came to an abrupt halt and stared to his immediate left. Amy glared at him and grunted in annoyance before following his glare. Together, they squinted at a familiar white figure that appeared to be on her way to the premiere.

Amy blinked rapidly and held her right hand to her mouth in wonder.

"Is that...?"

* * *

Rouge held the crumpled ticket in her hand and smiled. She had arrived at Central Square, and the enormous crowd of event-goers had come into view. Gazing once more over her sleeveless, strapless gown, the alluring bat confirmed that she exuded perfection before becoming engulfed in the deluge of gaudily-clad romance zealots. Inhaling the cool night air, she turned and prepared to maneuver through the cluster of flashy ensembles.

"Hey!" a male voice called, carrying over the droning of the masses. Figuring that this shout was not directed at her, she ignored the oddly familiar voice and continued to walk. A blue blur (A/N: Who could it be?) passed before her, coming to a complete stop only a couple feet before her. She heard approaching footsteps and spotted a pink hedgehog and two-tailed fox sprinting over to her.

"Well, well..." she said as she glanced between the three recognizable faces. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Sonic and Tails grinned at her remark, but Amy scowled and crossed her arms as she inspected the bat.

"Rouge the Bat, right?" Sonic asked, and Rouge smirked and nodded. He turned to Tails and Amy. "First Knuckles...and now Rouge? Man, who else are we going to see while we're here?"

Rouge blinked a couple times at the mention of the echidna's name. Why would he have come to the city when he had his Emerald to protect?

Amy, on the other hand, was rather skeptical of Rouge. Ever since she had come into the picture, the bat had never established herself as being on a particular side. She was similar to Knuckles in that sense, for his alliances with Sonic were only temporary and generally were due to overlapping goals. However, her avaricious yet obscure personality marked her as someone in whom Amy could not have confidence for the time being.

_Knuckles told us that he was here because the Master Emerald was stolen, _the hedgehog thought, folding her arms across her chest. _If he came to a place like this to look for it and, strangely enough, that bat is here, could she be the one who took it? I mean, she has tried to before..._

"Are you all right?" Rouge inquired, noticing that Amy appeared to be in deep contemplation. At the sound of the jewel thief's voice, her chin snapped up and she blinked.

"I'm fine..."

The bat smirked at her reply and turned to Sonic.

"So...you mentioned that the echidna is here?"

Sonic nodded and started to speak, but Amy rushed over and covered his mouth. He grunted in confusion as Rouge raised an eyebrow at the strange pink hedgehog.

"That's none of your business!" Amy snapped as she glared at the suspicious bat. Rouge shrugged and started to leave.

"Well, with that said, I'm off! Have fun at the show." Rouge smirked. "And Sonic...your tag is showing."

Amy shifted her glance from Rouge to the top of Sonic's pants, where a small tag was visible to the right of his tail. She reached down to fix it as Sonic realized what this meant.

"Wait, Amy! Don't touch–"

Unfortunately, Sonic's warning came a bit too late. Amy tucked the tag in, thus disturbing the very fragile alignment of the trousers on his body and sending them plummeting to the cement. The blue hedgehog groaned as he reached down to pick them up and held them in place. Amy, Tails, and Rouge watched the entire episode unfold with suppressed laughter. Sonic whipped around and furrowed his brow.

"These weren't _meant_ to fit a hedgehog!" he complained, and Amy giggled at her hero.

Rouge left the group with a parting wave and melded into the ocean of faces. As she made her way to the grand outdoor theatre, she thought of the guardian that Sonic had mentioned and wondered what he could possibly have come to the city for. The stubborn Knuckles would willingly trade his life for the safety of the Master Emerald if the situation called for it. With that in mind, it seemed strange that he would endanger the gem by leaving the shrine on Angel Island...

When she reached the entrance, she stared down at the very steep series of concrete steps that divided the rows of the amphitheater-esque performance area. Although she had come almost an hour early and a large amount of attendees were socializing outside of the site, the red velvet seats were already packed with thrilled fans. Grasping the steel railing, Rouge carefully descended the stairs as she scanned her ticket. Her seat number was listed as "A6," which she had instantly figured was a front-row seat. To her curiosity, however, the bat noticed that the closest row to the stage was comprised of about six boxed-in areas, each holding two chairs and a small table.

As she drew closer, she carefully examined the row letters that were visible on the arms of the aisle seats. Rouge had just passed the K row, and there were nine rows in front of her, excluding the box seats. She paused for a moment and figured that the row of velvet chairs closest to the stage must be the B row, while A-row seats were located in the prestigious boxes.

Turning to survey the A-row areas, she instantly observed that none of the seats had been filled yet. She supposed that these spots must belong to wealthy folks who were currently discussing the latest gossip outside of the theatre. A solitary figure was sitting alone in the box at the bottom of the stairs, his gloved hands clasped in his lap as he regarded the vivid stage through his thin spectacles. He was dressed in an orderly charcoal suit, and his pointy ears were pressed against his dark fur as he churned solemn thoughts in his mind. Rouge smiled and hurried down the last several steps, nearly losing balance when her heeled shoe struck the bottom step at the wrong angle.

When she was about to alert the creature to her presence, a portly rabbit in a black vest jumped in front of her and bowed before her. Brown eyes bored into hers from the mass of light purple fur that now towered over her. The bat, slightly intimidated, took a step backwards and switched into a fighting stance. Upon seeing this, the hare chuckled and patted her on the shoulder, shaking his head.

"I'm just here to check your ticket, ma'am," he assured with a wide smile, fixing her with a friendly gaze. Rouge felt her cheeks flush and she handed him her ticket, which he skimmed a few times. He nodded at her and grinned. "The guest of honor, hm? Your seat is in this box right here."

The rabbit stepped out of her way and gestured to the box that the thoughtful figure was seated in. Rouge offered a comical salute and the attendant waved in acknowledgment before hopping up the stairs to check the tickets of the stream of guests that had just flooded in.

Rouge walked into the small seating area and stopped about five feet from the occupied chair. She smirked as the cat before her heard the clacking of her heels and gazed up. His once-somber face lit up at once with pleasure, and he stood up and took a few steps toward her.

"I'm glad that you decided to come," the cat greeted merrily, offering a courteous bow. "You look absolutely ravishing!"

The bat responded to this appreciation with a simple nod and stared at the stage with interest. Though its surface was nothing out of the ordinary, the exciting backdrop was lit by every hue of every color imaginable. Every few seconds, these colors would swap and slowly dance with each other, sometimes overlapping. The whole display was very fluid and well-produced, causing the entire light effect to have the appearance of rippling water. If not for the myriad of shades and pigments, the experience would be reminiscent of gazing into the clear surface of a lake on a slightly windy day.

"Looks like it's going to be quite a show," Rouge remarked, and the cat grinned and sighed nervously.

"Well...I hope you're right...um..."

He met her eyes and raised an eyebrow as if asking a tacit question.

"Rouge, Rouge the Bat!" she replied pridefully, spreading her wings as if to prove a point.

The cat nodded and held out his hand politely.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Rouge. My name is...well...technically Alfonso the Cat or Alfonso Valente...but please call me 'Alfonso.'"

Rouge blinked at him, unable to believe what she was hearing. _The_ Alfonso Valente? The _producer_ who had designed this entire premiere?

"Well, Mister Alfonso," Rouge responded doubtfully, subtly mocking his method of speaking, "It was very thoughtful of you to invite me, but why did you choose _me_ in particular?"

The cat lowered his hand when he realized that the bat had no intention of shaking it. Despite this, he seemed very delighted that she had come.

"You seemed rather troubled when I came across you, and it was rather impolite of me to startle you like that. I figured that this might help to improve your mood."

For a moment, Rouge reflected on her dream and the meeting with the cat. Since that occurrence, she had not thought of her nightmares and the horror that accompanied them. This was perhaps the first day that she had truly been herself in many months.

"You don't have to say 'Thank you' to be grateful, as you know," he stated, interrupting her thoughts. Rouge merely nodded as the cat continued to smile pleasantly. He gazed at the stage in a trance, as if his life's efforts were manifesting before his eyes in full beauty. "You're not the type of person that would say it...It hurts your pride, I'm assuming."

Rouge stared at him with astonishment, unsure of whether to feel bewildered or insulted. As she prepared to question him, Alfonso glanced around the site and pulled a slip of paper out of his chest pocket. After reading it over, he placed it back in his jacket and frowned.

"I need to prepare for the show now, but I will be back at intermission."

The bat nodded in approval, and he sped past her and up the steps, presumably to find the backstage entrance. She turned away and sat down in one of the cushioned chairs, gazing up at the inky sky. Due to the city lights, only the brightest of the stars were visible to the naked eye. Truthfully, the one downside that the glamorous Rouge found in city life was that the darkness of night was always ruined by blinding lights. She favored the allure of the shadows over the flashy array of glows that marked the typical nighttime scene. She had resided in the city for as long as she could recall, and thus she had developed her bewitching appearance and personality.

Rouge sat back in the seat and closed her eyes, relaxing as she awaited the opening of the performance. Because of her early arrival, she knew that she would have to wait a miniature eternity. The excited mumbling from the multitude of ecstatic fans was beginning to bring pain to her ears, and she sighed as she covered them gently. When she had grown accustomed to the noise, her thoughts gradually drifted from the unusual feline to her dreams of Knuckles. Upon returning to her apartment the previous night, she had slumbered peacefully and dreamlessly. Now that the echidna could possibly be nearby, swarms of thoughts battled in her weary brain. In truth, she almost wished that they could meet by a streak of luck so she could manipulate his gullible mind.

_All in good fun, of course,_ Rouge thought with a smirk. _That Knucklehead takes everything too seriously._

As she thought of the crimson guardian, her clever grin turned into a genuine smile and she sank into the cushioned chair. Once again, the concerns that plagued her dreams had faded into bliss.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaand that's all for chapter 5! I hope you liked it!**

**(-Looks around expectantly-)**

**Oh, right...um...Knuckles is on a mission... :)**

**That means I have to say his line, though. -.-**

**Review, Review! Lauren likes reviews!**


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